Lifting-jack.



No. 812,128. PATENTED FEB. 6, 1906. W. H. GRIFFITH.

LIPTING JACK.

nruouzon FILED JAN-18, 1905.

WILLIAM H. GRIFFITH, OF WVORTHINGTON, INDIANA.

LlFTlNG-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

Application filed January 18, 1905. Serial No. 241,667.

To all whom it natty concern):

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GRIFFITH, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of WVorthington, in the county of Greene and State ofIndiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lifting Jacks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in lifting-jacks and to a speciesof liftingjacks which is capable of being converted into a bench-visewhen the exigency for such use may arise; and the object is to provide asimple, powerful, quick acting lifting jack which is capable of easy andready operation and manipulation; and it consists in certain novelfeatures of construction and combinations of parts, which will behereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myImproved lifting-jack. Fig. 2 is a broken view, partly in section. Fig;3 is a detail with a portion of the mechanlsm removed. Fig. 4 is abroken view, partly in section, showing the parts in position to act asa vise; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section through a fragmentaryportion of the lifting jack, showing a part of the runner C, chamber 3,and elements therein.

A represents the main bar or standard of my improved lifting-jack, and Bis the base, to which the standard is preferably secured by a bolt 1 orsimilar means. A handle 2 at the upper end is provided for lifting andholding the jack in position.

C and D are the upper and lower runners, respectively. These are mountedto slide on the upright or bar A. The runner C is chambered out, as at 2and 3, immediately beneath the point where the object to be lifted is toutilize space in the runner which would.

otherwise be lost and at a point almost directly beneath the load. Thiswedge-shaped block is recessed, as shown at 6, to receive the toothedgrip-block 7, which is made of hard steel and the teeth of which areadapted to enga e the bar or standard and lock the runner a in positionwhen the wedge shaped block is forced upwardly, and it is normally heldupward by a spiral spring 8 beneath it and expanding upwardlythereagainst. This spring 8 not only thrusts the block upward into theV-shaped recess, but it also yields to permit the upper runner to beraised at any time, the teeth of the grip-block projecting downward tofurther assist in thisoperation.

As a means for unlocking the runner or releasing the grip-block from thebar or standard a cam-lever 10 is provided. This is connected by a pin11 to the block 5, and this pin 11 operates in a slot 12, which iselongated and parallels the outer wall of the partition 4. The enlargedportion of the cam-lever is adapted to bear on a shoulder 13 when thecam-lever is moved to a horizontal position and by so doing to force thewedge-shaped block downward against the expansive action of the spring8, and with it the grip-block, away from the bar or standard, thuspermitting the runner to be lowered. The lower runner D is also providedwith a toothed ripblock 14, which engages the rear edge of the uprightor standard, the two grip-blocks being adapted normally to alternatelytake hold upon the bar or standard.

An L-shaped lever 15 is fulcrumed at 16 in the lower runner D, and theupper end is provided with a pin 17, which extends through the curvedslot 18 in the upper runner C, and this pin 17 extends throu h to theother side, where it is connected with the hand-lever L, which latter ispivoted to the upper runner C. (Not shown.) A spring 19, interposedbetween the opposite end of L-shaped lever 15 and the upper end of therunner D, normally acts to retain the runner in operative position. Aprojection 20 on the rear upper side of the lower runner D is inposition to be struck by the upper runner Cwhen the latter is lowered,whereby to tilt the lower runner D to cause the release of thegrip-block 14 from the bar or standard and permit the runner to slidedownwardly thereon.

To use the lifting-jack as a vise, the supplemental jaw J is used. Thisis provided with teeth 23, preferably 'to cooperate with the runner C,and it is held in place by the grip block 24. When used as a vise, thebar or standard A is preferably swung over into the horizontal positionindicated in Fig. 4 and the runner C is operated by hand or lever toforce it up into position to hold the article to be clamped rigidlybetween it and the jaw J. When not in use as a vise, the jaw J isremoved from the lifting-jack.

In this way I not only provide a simple and efficient lifting-jack, butalso a convenient form of vise into which the jack may be transformed ata moments notice.

Shght changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of theseveral parts described without departure from the spirit and scope ofmy invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the exactconstruction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a lifting-jack, of a supplemental jaw arrangedand adapted to cooperate with the movable parts of the lift- 1ng-jackwhereby to form a vise.

2. The combination with the bar or standard of a lifting-jack, andrunners mounted thereon, with means for automatically grip ping therunners to the bar or standard, of a supplemental jaw mounted on the baror standard and adapted to cooperate with one of the runners whereby totransform the jack into a vise.

3. The combination with a base, and a bar or standard pivotallysupported thereon, of runners mounted on the bar or standard, means forlocking them thereto, and a supplemental jaw adapted to be employed to006perate with the runner whereby the lifting-j ack may be transformedinto a vise.

4. The combination with the bar or standard of a lifting-jack, of arunner havin "a V- shaped chamber therein located direct y beneath theload, a Wedge-shaped block-fitted to said chamber and carrying agrip-block, and a cam-leverfor forcing said V-shaped I block in onedirection.

5. The combination with a bar or standard, of a runner having a V-shapedchamber therein located directly beneath the load, a wedge-shaped blockfitted to said chamber and carrying a grip-block, a spring for movingsaid wedge-shaped block into position to cause the grip-block to lockthe runner to the bar or standard, and means for releasing said blocktherefrom.

6. The combination with a bar or standard, of'a runner mounted to slidethereon and provided with a V-shaped chamber located directly beneaththe load, a wedge-shaped block fitted therein, a grip-block carried bythe wedge-shaped block, a spring for norrnally raising the wedge-shapedblock, the

runner having a diagonallydisposed slot therein, a pin extendlng throughthis slot from the block, cam-lever mounted on the pin and adapted toengage a shoulder on the runner whereby to force the block against theaction of the spring and release the runner from the bar or standard.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. GRIFFITH. Witnesses:

W. H. WVADswoRTH, J AS. A. YOOKEY. 1

